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VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — A University of South Dakota professor is refusing calls to cancel the screening of a documentary that depicts brutality against Muslim women.
The "Honor Diaries" is to be screened at the university's annual women and gender conference April 10. Some staff and faculty members want the showing canceled, the Argus Leader reported (http://argusne.ws/1HWAG5n ). The film goes against USD's desire for "inclusive excellence," said Musheera AnisAbdellatif, a professor in the health sciences department.
A student group called the Association for Advancement of Women's Rights agreed to sponsor the film but later withdrew its support.
Conference coordinator Miglena Sternadori, a media and journalism professor, said she won't bow to the pressure because the film depicts issues that are relevant to the conference.
"It's just the wrong thing to do to censor a movie," she said.
The film features women activists who work in a culture that condones female genital mutilation, forced marriages of young girls and other abuses of women. "Honor Diaries" has been praised for bringing attention to the plight of women in Middle Eastern cultures but is also criticized as anti-Muslim propaganda.
"We're talking the worst form of anti-Muslim bigotry couched in terms of a legitimate issue," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "You don't have to help promote the agenda of Islam haters. That's what you do when you promote this film."
Sternadori said she disagrees with assessments that the film is anti-Muslim. Other Muslim groups support the film, and Muslims helped create it, she said.
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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
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